US emergency funding

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has announced a donation by the United States government of US $13.5 million towards the agency's urgent appeal for emergency food to war-torn Angola, WFP announced on Friday. WFP Representative and Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Francesco Strippoli said: "This aid is essential to the survival of over one million destitute people who badly need food assistance." The donation represents more than one-third of WFP's requirements for the period 1 September to 31 December 1999, which totals US $38 million. With the addition of this latest donation, the shortfall against this requirement stands at US $22.6 million. The WFP said it is currently assisting approximately 80 percent of Angolans in need. Faced with the prospect of running out of food within two months, the agency launched an urgent appeal in June to solicit additional emergency funds from international donors. The US $13.5 million USAID contribution, through the "Food for Peace" programme of the US government, provides for both delivery and transportation of 19,000 mt of food commodities. "This is the first substantial response to the new appeal and we hope that it will encourage other donors to contribute the remaining two-thirds of the requirement within the next few weeks," said Strippoli. "We now face over 30 percent global malnutrition in urban centres like Malanje, and other cities are not far behind," added Strippoli. The tragedy in Angola has been unfolding for several months due to the renewed armed conflict, WFP said. The populations at risk are spread throughout the country, but are mostly concentrated in Angola's besieged provincial capitals. "In these besieged cities of the Angolan interior, many poor residents must now be included among the vulnerable groups," Strippoli said. "Even if the numbers of displaced people do not increase significantly over the coming months, the number of people in need will keep going up." According to the WFP, as the cities remain isolated by land and by air for intermittent periods, commercial food becomes scarce and extremely expensive. WFP added: "Poor residents cannot afford the spiralling high prices of food in the local markets as they lack the means to buy or produce their own food and are now trapped in cities, living without hope." Currently, WFP said it works with over 130 national and international NGOs, UN agencies and local authorities to receive, store, transport and distribute food aid. This month, WFP said it planned to deliver to the interior of the country 10,000 mt of commodities and hopes to increase this amount to 13,000 mt in September. "Anything less than this amount may subject the poorest strata of the Angolan population to the danger of starvation," WFP added.